UFC suspends Nate Diaz for homophobic slur
UFC lightweight Nate Diaz has been suspended by the promotion for using a homophobic slur in a tweet about fellow fighter Bryan Caraway. After Pat Healy lost his UFC 159 Submission of the Night bonus for testing positive for marijuana, the bonus was given to Caraway. Diaz apparently didn't think Caraway should have accepted the money. Apologies for the language he used in the tweet showing on Cagewriter:
I feel bad for pat Healy that they took a innocent mans money and I think the guy who took the money is the biggest Fag in the world ..
— Nathan Diaz (@NateDiaz209) May 16, 2013
He followed that up with a slur against women.
— Nathan Diaz (@NateDiaz209) May 16, 2013
The UFC responded quickly, suspending Diaz as they investigate what their next move is. The promotion issued a statement on the matter.
"We are very disappointed by Nate Diaz's comments, which are in no way reflective of our organization. Nate is currently suspended pending internal investigation and we will provide further comment once the matter has been decided."
Diaz's Mike Kogan manager then responded that Diaz wasn't using a homophobic slur. Instead, he told MMA Junkie that Diaz was using a misogynistic term.
"Guess what? The word [expletive], at least in Northern California, and where Nate is from, means bitch. It means you're a little punk. It has nothing to do with homosexuals at all. So when Nate made the comment that he made, he didn't make it in reference to homosexuals or calling Caraway a homosexual. He just said it was a bitch move."
Calling someone that word isn't OK, either. Kogan's defense of his fighter is completely out of touch with the UFC's fighter code of conduct, which reads that a fighter will be disciplined for "insulting language about a person's ... gender or sexual orientation." Whether it's a misogynistic or homophobic term, fighters are specifically told not to use it by their code of conduct.
